The European media landscape is changing profoundly. In this wide-ranging and timely text, members of the Euromedia Research Group examine the ways in which national and supranational policy is reacting to these changes.
The contributors consider: the consequences for broadcasting systems of satellite and cable delivery; the fate of public broadcasting under deregulation; the changes currently affecting print media and newspapers; the impact of media changes for political and social cultural life; and the significance of the Internet, the first true fruit of the telematic revolution in communication.
The main themes of media policy analysis today are convergence, concentration and commercialization, and abundance through digitalization. Although media policy has changed drastically in its concerns and forms, the authors here argue that the need for an effective public communication policy in our `information society' is as pressing now as it ever was.
Introduction
Changing Media and Changing Society - Karen Siune
PART ONE: STRUCTURAL CHANGES
The European Newspaper Market - Els de Bens and Helge [sl]Ostbye
Does Public Broadcasting Have a Future? - Karen Siune and Olof Hult[ac]en
Media Concentration and the Public Interest - Werner A Meier and Josef Trappel
PART TWO: TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
The Digital Future - Hans J Kleinsteuber
The Internet - Wolfgang Treutzschler
A New Mass Medium?
Convergence - Bernt Stubbe [sl]Ostergaard
Legislative Dilemmas
PART THREE: MEDIA AND SOCIOCULTURAL CHANGE
Commercialization and Beyond - Denis McQuail
Politicization in Decline? - Kees Brants and Karen Siune
Media Use in the European Household - Mary J Kelly
The Media in the Age of Digital Communication - Els de Bens and Gianpietro Mazzoleni
PART FOUR: POLICY RESPONSES
Debating National Policy - Claude Sorbets
Media Concentration - Josef Trappel and Werner A Meier
Options for Policy
European Policy Initiatives - Mario Hirsch and Vibeke G Petersen
CONCLUSION
Looking to the Future - Denis McQuail
